Icebreaker for highway maintenance



5, 1952 w. A. LOMMEN ICEBREAKER FOR HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE 2 SHEET$-SHEET 1 Filed March 22, 1948 AZZarrzgys Aug. 5, 1952 w. A. LOMME N ICEBREAKER FOR HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed March 22, 1948 Aiiozwegz Patented Aug. 5,1952

" FFICE? IQEBBEAKEB. FOR HIGHWAX CE I ll am:.A.. Lgm W nd m,

Annl c t caMar ta 1948, S. f 1;N Liens,

Loafe (o1. zed-1.31:

My inventionrelatesto 'a devieefor removing ice -from flat surfaces, particularly road pavements -and the like.

The primaryobject of my-invention lS*th8 p1 O-- visionof a device of the class described wh-ich-is inexpensive to construct, durable inuse, effective in operation, and Y readily. mobile. 7

Anotherobj ect of my invention is theprov-ision of a device which, when moved over apaved surface, will subjecttheicethereon to repeated impact of beater elements sufficient to shatter the: i'ce sothat the shattered ice may. bereadily sweptfrom'the pavement.

Another obj ect of myinventionisthe provision ofia. devicetas setforth which is provided with beater-elements. which may.b'e. adjustably -1noved toward and from theground:

A still further object of my-invention is the.

provision of means-for-rotating the beater elements at predetermined speeds independent of the speed of the-vehicle.

A still further object of: my invention is the provision of a device as set forth which includes a pair of rotary elements having beaters thereon, said rotary elements being offset longitudinally and laterally of the machine; and havingtheir adjacent ends-so positioned-"one-with respect to the-other'so that thedistance-between the heaters atthe endof one ofsaiddrums-and the heaters atthe-adiacentend-of the other-of said" drums is not substantially greaterihanthe distanc betweenbeaters on the same drum.

Other, highly important objects andadyantages of my; invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claim, and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. l is a view in plan of my novel ice breaker;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the machine of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail of one of the beater-equipped rotary drums of my invention, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, some parts removed; and

Fig. 4 is an axial section, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring with greater particularity to the drawings, the numeral I indicates, in its entirety, a rectangular frame, the front and rear members of which are designated by the numerals 2 and 3 respectively and the side members by the numeral 4. Frame l is mounted on ground wheels 5, one adjacent each corner, by means which may be of any suitable typebut'as shown comprise lever-actingarms.6 to which thewheels 5" are journalled bymeans ofrstub shafts I and which are pivotally secured at their upper ends to brackets 8 as indicated at9', and adjustingmeans such'as screws Ill. The screws Hl'have threaded engagement with nuts H pivotally secured' to the lower ends of the arms'. ii. The screws mare journalled at their intermediate portions in the frame I and are held against axial movements therein by stop collars 12. on opposite sidesofa platform member 53- forming part'of'= At;

their-upper ends, thescrews- I I] are provided with i hand cranks 14a the framework 1: and covering the .same.

Intermediatethe front and rear pairs of wheels 5 are-amair of-cage-like drums I 5 and: I6, which are journal-led on horizontal axesin bearingbrackets-l-l' and! S-respectively by'means of shafts l 9-and-2il respectively Bearing brackets H and i 8"" are secured fast to the underside of the frame. I by-means-of-headed bolts or the-like. 2 I The rotary-drums i5 and it each comprise-axiallyspaeedend plates zzjoined by a plurality of cirend-plates 22; As seenparticularly with referenceto Fig. 4; the end plates 22 of rotor l5 are made-fast to-theshaft IS -bymeans of pins 24 extending threug-h bosses 25 -on the end plates 22 and the shaft l9:

shaft I91 Beater Y, elements preferably and as shown in the nature of link chains 26 are shown as being secured to the circumferentially-spaced bars 23 in longitudinally-extended rows which extend from one end of the bars 23 to the other end thereof in spaced relationship one to the other. As shown particularly by Fig. 4, the beater elements 26are spaced apart with the elements on one bar 23 being staggered with respect to the beater elements secured to the adjacent bar, for a purpose which will hereinafter become apparent. Preferably and as shown, hammer elements or striking blocks 2'! are secured to the free outer ends of each of the beater elements 25.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be observed that, whereas the drums l5 and i6 are in laterally-spaced relationship one to the other, they are also staggered in the same horizontal plane.

The lateral spacing between the drums is just sufficient to allow clearance between the movable parts thereof, while the longitudinal stagger between the drums must be sufficient to prevent The rotor l6= is identical to rotor- I 5 and; is -secured 1 to the shaft 20 in thesame; manner in; which-rotor l- 5'--is-. securedto Mounted adjacent the rear end of the frame I preferably and as shown, on the platform mem"- ber I3, is an internal combustion engine 28 having a speed change transmission gearing not shown but contained within a housing 29 and op-.

erated by a gear shift handle 30. A pulley 3] is mounted fast on the end of the drive shaft 32; and a belt 33 runs thereover and over a similar pulley 34 fast on an extension 35 of the shaft IS. The extension 35 is journalled at its outer end in a bearing 35 secured to one of the frame members 4. The drum I6 is driven from the shaft extension 35 through the medium of a belt '31 running over a pulley 38 fast on the shaft 20 and a similar pulley 39 secured fast adjacent the outer end of the shaftextension 35. lBy-thev means abovegdescribed, the drums l5 and I5 may 7 be rotated at any predetermined speed inde-, pendent of the speed of the wheels 5. For the purpose of moving the same over a stretch of road pavement, I provide a bifurcated hitching bracket 40 having aligned openings 4| therein for reception of a pin or other hitch member.

While my device may be made of any given width, preferably it is made to correspond approximately to the width of a single normal highway lane so that by runs in opposite directions, the transverse width of a highway may be completely cleared of ice without affecting the normal flow of traillc thereon. Under varying conditions of use, such as thickness of ice on the highway or the like, it may become necessary or desirable to lower or raise the drums l5 and H5 or either one thereof with respect to the road surface. This may be accomplished by adjusting the screws l by manipulation of the cranks l4. Likewise it may become necessary or desirable to increase the rate of rotation of the drums l and 5 without regard to the speed of the vehicle. As above pointed out, this may be accomplished by adjusting the rate of speed of the motor 28. It should be obvious that, as the drums I 5 and l6 are rotated, the beater elements 26 thereon are extended radially outwardly by centrifugal force and caused to strike the ice on the pavement with sufiicient impact to shatter the same and loosen the shattered pieces therefrom. The shattering of the ice is further enhanced by the striking blocks or hammer elements 21 on the outer ends of the chains 26.

' While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention as required by Section 4888 of the United States Statutes, it should be obvious that the same is capable of considerable modification without departure from the scope and spirit of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a device for removing ice from pavements and the like including a wheel-equipped frame, a pair of laterally-spaced parallel drums Journailed for rotation on horizontal axes on said frame in spaced relation to the ground and in staggered relationship longitudinally of the frame, circumferentially-spaced longitudinallyextended rows of flexible beater elements secured to said drum and projecting radially outwardly therefromunder rotation of said drums, the flexible beater elements of one of said rows on each of said drums being longitudinally offset from the flexible beater elements of adjacent rows, and means for rotating said drums at pre-determined speeds independent of the speed of said wheels, and in which adjacent ends of the drums lie so closely in the same vertical plane that the longitudinal distance between the flexible beater elements on the end of one drum with respect to those on the adjacent end of the other of said drums is not substantially greater than the distance between adjacent flexible beater elements on the same drum.

WILLIAM A. LOMMEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 58,932 Wooten Oct. 16, 1866 976,439 Cunningham Nov. 22, 1910 1,505,572 McDonald Aug. 19, 1924 2,009,500 Kramer July 30, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 47,225 Austria Apr. 10, 1911 530,654 Germany July 31, 1931 

